Lily of Course
by symrsmrdr
Summary: The story of Lily Evans in her fifth year at Hogwarts. With the help of her best friend Severus, she tries to navigate her way in a word she doesn't completely fit into.


Lily Evans of Cokeworth was perfectly odd, thank you very much. Although she wouldn't admit it. Even to herself. There were always strange and mysterious things happening around her. As much as she tried to be normal, she just wasn't. Lily Evans was a witch. The only one in her family. She was average in height, thin, and always looked as though she was in on the words greatest secret.

It was summer break and Lily and her sister Petunia were on holiday from school. Lily was all but counting down the seconds until she could return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In a few days she would be starting her fifth year and had even been selected as a prefect for her house, Slytherin. It was quite an honor, and her whole family were extremely proud – even if they did not fully understand what Slytherin or Hogwarts were.

The two sisters sat on opposite beds in a small bedroom on the second floor of the family's simple house. "Lily, can't you tell me a bit more?" Lily's older sister Petunia loved to hear about her sister's adventures as a witch-in-training. "I can't believe you'll be gone again. And I'll be here all alone until Christmas."

"I promise I'll write. I always do." Lily stood up from the bed and walked over to the window at the opposite side of the room. As she looked out she could see a small figure in the distance walking toward the house. "Severus," she said quietly to herself.

"Listen, I've got a few things I want to do today, but I promise we'll talk later." She quickly glanced at her reflection in the mirror, fixed her bleach blonde hair, and then skipped out the door and down the stairs.

"Well isn't this a pleasant surprise!" she yelled to the figure slowly approaching the house, who was not quite close enough for her to use a normal voice. "I thought we were meeting after lunch!" She waited as a tall, pale, shaggy haired boy with mismatched clothes approached her. She could never tell if this was a deliberate style or not.

"I just had to get out of there. You know…" He smiled half-heartedly at her for a second before shaking his head. After a small hop on both feet his attitude changed and he looked down at Lily and smiled. "Your eyes are exceptionally green today." She reached out and interlocked her arm with his. They walked down the street and out of the neighborhood.

As they walked, Lily listened to her dearest and oldest friend talk about his latest interest in uncommon spells. She was glad to listen to him as he talked passionately about something. She knew things were rough at home and anything to distract his thoughts was a good thing. "…I just wish I could try some of them out here at home. It's awful to be without magic for this long."

"We'll be back to school soon," she replied, "but let's try and enjoy as much of home as we can before then." As they turned the corner the local supplies store came into view. She knew it made Severus nervous to go into town and visit the non-magical shops but for her, it was a great way to remember she was part of two worlds. She didn't want to give up her Muggle-ness completely. She had begun buying her school supplies from Muggle shops in year two, after realizing how much easier it would be to use a pen and bound notebook instead of quill, ink, and parchment.

They entered a shop dedicated to office and school supplies. It was no Scribbulus Writing Implements, but Lily liked the simplicity and organization. As she wandered down an aisle dedicated to pens she turned toward her friend, "Do you remember when I first used a notebook and pen at school?" She smiled mischiefly at Severus and he laughed.

"I couldn't tell whether professor Dumbledore was more proud or worried that it would catch on and that everyone would return after winter break with non-magical pens and paper!" Severus struggled to accept Lily's Muggle habits, but she could see that he tried his best to embrace them for her sake.

They wandered the aisles of the store until they both had what they needed. Lily had purchased a pack of pens of every colour, correction tape, post-its, several bound notebooks, and a few pencils and erasers – _for that tricky arithmancy_. Severus had bought only a single notebook of paper and a set of black fountain pens.

They made their way out of the shop and further into the town. Cokeworth was very industrial and almost everyone worked at one of the factories on the outskirts of town. Both Lily's father and Severus' father worked in the same factory located a short distance from their neighborhood by the river. "I'd like to use my magic to somehow make Cokeworth brighter someday," Lily said offhandedly, "after I leave Hogwarts."

"Cokeworth is always brighter when you're here," Severus replied, "literally and figuratively." The usually grim and grey town always seemed to be a bit brighter and sunny out whenever Lily was around. Lily laughed as she looked at the cloudless sky above them. "Stop it!" she said as she tried to hide a smile, "I'm serious!" she added playfully as Severus gestured to the sky.

Next, they stopped at a small bookshop that also had a small restaurant inside. They bought one sandwich to share while they wandered the aisles. "Too bad we spent all our money on those supplies," Lily sighed, "we could've bought a book or two to read while at school." If there was one thing Lily missed while at Hogwarts, it was a good Muggle fiction book. "I've already read the ones we'll be reading in Muggle Studies this year, would've been nice to bring a few more."

"You mean the books _you_ will be reading in Muggle Studies this year." As much as she tried, Severus couldn't quite embrace the non-magical community despite being half Muggle-born.

"I'd rather take double Herbology before that class, thanks." He added. The mood had changed and Lily felt uncomfortable at the thought of her friend disliking the part of her that she was most proud of. They had been fighting more frequently about small things like Muggle Studies, their non-magical parents, and even things such as the no-magic-away-from-school rule they had to obey while at home. "I don't feel like looking at books anymore," Severus said sharply, "I'll wait outside." And he walked away from a confused Lily. She continued to browse through the fiction section as she thought about her friendship with Severus.

It had been hard, at first – especially in their first year. She had been so excited to be placed into Slytherin with him. _A strong leader. Resourceful. Determined._ Those were the words the Sorting Hat had used to describe her that first day. But once the other students in her new house discovered she was Muggle-born, they began treating her differently. She became a sort of outcast. Severus remained her friend, but he had been changing ever since.

As a child he had been not only a friend but a guide. Because of Severus she had begun to understand her magical abilities early-on. She was not afraid when strange things would happen out of nowhere, like many Muggle-born children. Lily shook her thoughts away and glanced out the front window to see Severus sitting on a bench across the street. He looked older than he was, and more worn and burdened than a 15-year-old should be.

As they walked home silently, Lily imagined the many ways she could apologize to Severus and break the tension. She would bet a thousand galleons that he was doing the exact same thing.

"Severus," she started, "can we make a promise?" She wasn't sure what exactly she was going to say next but knew it would shape their school year. He glanced down and waited for her to continue. "Promise that you'll be honest with me this year? No matter what happens?" She hated how distant their friendship felt while at school. Maybe more honesty would help her understand why and how it could be fixed.

"I am honest," he replied weakly. There was a silent pause as they approached Lily's street. Severus stopped at the corner. "We'll always be friends, no matter what. Don't worry," he added. "I'm sorry about earlier. There's a lot going on at home right now and it's been affecting my mood."

"It's okay. I'm sorry too. For pressuring you to take classes you don't want to take. At least we have a few other classes together." She smiled up at him and hugged Severus goodbye. "At least we'll rule potions together," she added in a lighter tone in an attempt to brighten the mood.

"Yeah, Professor Slughorn has nothing on us!" It worked. She knew their previous argument had been forgotten. She smiled and walked toward home while Severus continued toward his own street.


End file.
